A Rock of Stability in Life’s Darkest Moments

When loss strikes, the facts fade but Colel Chabad’s empathy endures.

In a recent drone attack in southern Lebanon, Omar Galdor, a 30-year-old Israeli soldier and beloved father of two, fell protecting his homeland and family. For most, this alone would be an unimaginable tragedy. For the Gispen family, it reopens wounds that haven’t even fully closed. 

Omar was the son-in-law of Yaron Gispen, of blessed memory, a resident of Eli. Having lost her father years ago, Omar’s wife has already been a member of Colel Chabad’s Chesed Menachem Mendel Orphan Initiative.

Her first exposure to profound, life-changing loss began in 2009 when Yaron was found riddled with fatal gunshot wounds. Was it a terrorist attack? Suicide? For nine years, no one knew. 

To Colel Chabad, though, it never mattered. The only facts the organization needed was that there was a young widow and house of little children facing something they never imagined. 

Authorities dismissed Yaron’s death as suicide while his widow, Iris, fought tirelessly until 2018, when the Ministry of Defense finally finished their research and recognized the truth: Yaron was a victim of terror.

All along, Colel Chabad understood something deeper. When a family is drowning in grief, they don’t need bureaucracy – they need a lifeline. While others saw a case number, the case managers saw human beings in pain. While systems demanded proof, the organization offered presence. While committees deliberated, Chesed Menachem Mendel delivered comfort. 

Colel Chabad stood by the family’s side then and continues to stand by now, as the family faces another life-altering loss – it’s a commitment to assist families struck by the pain of death. 

It never mattered why or how someone passed away. To their grieving family, all that matters is that they’re gone. 

The Torah teaches us that compassion knows no categories. Whether death comes through war, illness, or terror, the pain of loss speaks a universal language. This is why Colel Chabad’s doors remain open to all who suffer, offering not just support, but understanding. Not just assistance, but accompaniment on the long road of grief.

This is the essence of the mission – to embrace every widow, every orphan, every broken heart, regardless of how it broke. 

To the Gispen family, and to all families walking through the valley of death: you do not walk alone. Colel Chabad stood with you yesterday. We stand with you today. And we will stand with you until the ultimate comfort, when every family is reunited with the coming of Moshiach. Once and for all. 

Because facts may fade, but empathy – true, unconditional empathy – endures forever.